Better Off Forgotten
by americanbread
Summary: Sometimes, it's easier to forget. But is that really the best decision? AU Oneshot, post-FANG.


**This was inspired by **_**Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind**_**. Who doesn't love that movie?**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own MR and ESotSM.**

* * *

_The door to Dr. Gunther- Hagen's office opened, a young man peeking inside._

"_Dr. Gunther- Hagen?"_

"_Dylan? What are you doing here? I thought you were staying with Dr. Martinez and the other hybrids."_

_He opened the door wider, and took a tiny step into the office. "Someone wanted to see you. Someone from the flock."_

"_Who?"_

_The door behind Dylan opened, and a girl his age went inside and stood beside him._

"_Maximum Ride? What do you want this time?"_

_Without replying, she took the chair beside his desk and handed him a folder. He opened it and was surprised to see one of the laboratory's procedures typed up. They were supposed to be top secret, highly protected within networks and networks of firewalls and pass codes. But of course, this was the "flock" he was dealing with. Most, if not all of them, were good at hacking computers._

"_What about it?" He asked, closing the folder._

"_Fang." She said, referring to a member of the group who had recently run away. He was also Max's supposed other half, the one that Dylan was made to replace._

"_You want to remove Fang from your memory?"_

* * *

Eight days. Eight days without Fang had turned Max into a complete mess.

For the first three or four days, she stayed in bed, refusing to get up and leave the bedroom, unless she had to go to the bathroom. Her mother kept leaving meals, but they remained untouched. It took a lot of persuasion from the flock to have her get up, take a shower, and eat. She looked good as new, but that didn't matter; on the inside, she was still the girl Fang left broken.

If she was an ordinary fifteen- year- old girl, people would comment that she was very dramatic. But this was Maximum Ride who got left by Fang. They'd known each other for a long time. They battled erasers together, comforted each other after cruel experiments while at the School, and raised the rest of the flock together. They were partners in crime. He promised that he would always have her back.

And look where that promise went.

She wasn't the only one. Fang left the flock, and not just her. But the way the four of them looked at her, like they were just guests at his funeral and she was his sister. The way they shot sympathetic looks at her, saying something along the lines of _sorry for your loss_. It was enough to drive her mad. And Dylan made it worse by pestering her if she was alright.

She wanted to forget. Not the kind of forget, where you get drunk on alcohol all night until you can't even sit down properly, but the kind of forget where the memory completely disappears in your mind. Like amnesia. Or selective memory loss. That kind. And she decided that if she was to go on and save the world, she might as well totally get over it.

And she knew just who to ask.

* * *

"_What's with the face?" She asked Dr. Gunther- Hagen. "I thought you wanted me to get over Fang and 'pro- create' with Dylan?" At the mention of his name, Dylan's face turned red._

"_I do, but not like this." He said, and reached for the phone. "I'm calling Dr. Martinez and Batchelder. We have to discuss this first."_

_As he made the calls, Max turned to Dylan. "Do you want to stay?"_

_He shook his head. "Nah. If your mom is going to be here, I better go back to watch over the others." He replied, and then turned to exit._

_Her mother and Jeb arrived within minutes. Of course, Maximum Ride approaching a scientist about an experiment was enough to raise alarms. Dr. Gunther- Hagen only had to mention the procedure's number to make Jeb's forehead wrinkle. He had to give Dr. Martinez the folder to understand what her daughter wanted to go through._

"_Max, why would you want to erase Fang from your brain?" Her mother asked._

"_Because I want to save the world. And I don't think being like this would do the job." She said. "Face it mom; time's not going to do anything."_

"_Max, what you're specifically asking to have every memory related to or involving Fang erased." Jeb said. "I'm sure a lot of those memories involve the rest of the flock, too. If you go through this, your memories of the flock will be missing pieces."_

"_Then I'll ask them to help me fill in on those pieces. After all, not all those memories of Fang include the flock." She replied._

"_Have you even told them?" Dr. Martinez asked._

"_Not yet. I will when the decision's final."_

"_I don't know Max; I'm not sure if you would really want to do this." Her mother replied. "But I'm sure you'll be responsible enough to face the consequences. I'll leave this to you and Jeb."_

_Jeb looked at her. "Max, what are you planning to achieve with this?"_

"_What?"_

"_Do you want to forget Fang, because you're a heartbroken teenager? Or do you want to forget Fang because you're on a mission?"_

"_Both. You know I can't charge in and save the world acting like this. And seven billion human beings are more important than a mutant runaway."_

"_So this is your last resort? I find it a very weak move on your part, Maximum. You really need to have your memories erased in order to move on?"_

"_I have too many memories with him, Jeb. We've fought battles together for too long. I can't just easily forget like that, after all we've been through."_

"_And if you suddenly regret that?"_

"_I'm sure I won't. It's for the best. At least for me it is."_

"_We are trying alternatives," Dr. Gunther- Hagen cut in. "We've found that there are possibilities to store those thoughts somewhere else. But if she wants those memories back, it would be a longer and more difficult procedure."_

_Jeb looked at her with a sigh of resignation. "Don't get mad at me when I say 'I told you so'. And you have to tell the flock everything."_

"_Max, why don't you think about this for a couple more days?" Her mom asked. "Take some time to weigh in pros and cons."_

* * *

Three days later, Max confirmed that she was intent on being brainwashed to avoid any thought of Fang. The adults wore faces of resignation, and the rest of the flock, along with Ella, was called to the study for Max to announce her plans.

"Max, can I ask you something?" Angel asked, once Max explained the procedure.

"What is it, sweetie?"

"Do you hate Fang that much?"

Everyone was shocked that she was so direct with the question. Max wished Angel had asked her in her thoughts instead.

"I hate him for leaving us. And if he decides that he wants to save the world on his own, then I get to decide whether I want to literally forget him."

"You're the only one who'll do this, right?" Nudge asked.

"Yeah. I don't think this would be necessary for you guys." Max replied, thinking back to the metaphor of them being mere guests in Fang's funeral.

"How about the part where you have to collect all the stuff related to Fang?" Iggy asked.

"I'm the only one going through this. If I ask, just lie, or better yet, hide it."

"Why can't you still keep them?" The Gasman asked. "I mean, we can just make a different story about it."

Max thought of all things she had that would probably direct to Fang. The laptop he stole from the School could be traded with someone else's, or she could delete his files and clear the browser history. But the promise ring? She doubted that someone else would give that. Dylan, maybe, but they didn't share that much of a bond, and Dylan wouldn't be erased from her brain. The last one she could recall was a picture of her and Fang. That was something that definitely had to go.

She would've added Fang's letter, but a day after they received it, Iggy and the Gasman attached it to a bomb and blew it up in efforts to make her better

Even if she was ready to forget Fang, she wasn't sure she wanted to throw it all away.

"Maybe we could just hide it, if it's really important." The Gasman suggested.

Should she keep them? "If I find anything important to all of us, I'll just ask you to hide it. But really, I don't remember having anything for that."

Maybe she could just insert the picture between the pages of one of her mother's thickest encyclopedias. Maybe she could just keep the ring in a box and bury it somewhere. And she would definitely trade laptops.

"So you're not really going to collect stuff?" Nudge asked.

She shook her head. Years of running away didn't teach her to be a packrat. "I'm sure they have equipment to hunt down my Fang- related memories." She said, and turned to Dr. Gunther- Hagen for confirmation. He nodded.

"So all that we have to do after this is answer your questions on possible missing pieces of your memory?" Iggy asked.

"That's pretty much it." Max replied.

He turned to Dr. Martinez's direction. "There's not much stopping her, is there?"

"I don't think there'd be a chance." Jeb cut in, shaking his head sadly at Max. That didn't make her change her mind at all.

But during dinner, she told Nudge that she wanted to trade laptops with her. Nudge agreed. She excused herself early, and then snuck into the study to hide the picture of her and Fang between the pages of a thick book. She put the promise ring into a tiny plastic box. She told them that she wanted to go out and fly for a while, and that she preferred no one following her. She found a secluded spot in the woods and buried the tiny box near the roots of a tree. And just in case, she marked a low part of the trunk with a pair of wings using her pocket knife.

* * *

Max was given drugs in order not to wake up during the procedure. It took place in her bedroom, so when she woke up everything would look normal.

It all went as planned, with Dr. Gunther- Hagen and Jeb working together, while Dr. Martinez watched over her daughter. There were no complications whatsoever, and they double checked everything. And just to be sure, they also erased the memory of the procedure.

When Maximum Ride woke up, Fang wasn't a name. Fang was just a word that didn't mean anything to her.

Of course, it wasn't the same with the rest of the flock and Ella. They still had thoughts about Fang. They knew what happened to Max last night. And they all received formally written cards about it.

_Please be reminded that __**Maximum Ride**__ has had __**Fang**__ erased from her memory. Please never mention their relationship to her again._

_Thank you._

* * *

**I know I'm supposed to be updating a different story right now. But whatever, I just wanted to get this out.**

**So, thoughts anyone? Please?**

**-americanbread =D**


End file.
